TOP 10 FAMOUS PHILOSOPHICAL DISCUSSIONS

10 Famous Philosophical Concepts

Philosophy is the knowledge of wisdom and knowledge.After all, philosophy consists of the words philosopher (love) and sofia (knowledge, wisdom).With the purpose of collecting knowledge and spreading it to the next generation, philosophers have been busy with questions such as “What should I know, do, hope,” and “what is humanity” for centuries?In order to answer these questions, they have developed many beautiful terms, then to bite their hearts to these terms.A positivist solist, with tendencies to existentialism, for example, will not soon agree with an absurdistic determinist with utilitarian thoughts.If this sounds amazing to you or maybe even if sound nonsense sounds in the ears, read this list as soon as possible.It will not give you a Master of Philosophy, but with these ten terms you can at least get something from the average philosophy discussion!

10. Solipsism Philosophy

Solipsism comes from two words: solus and ipse.Solus means only, or alone (think of ‘solo’) and ipsemeans itself.Solipsism as a word literally means ‘just the self’, but for philosophers it is a problem with which Western philosophy has been fighting for centuries.There is an extreme version, the metaphysical solipsism, in which a philosopher assumes that there is only one single person, and all the other, the world around us, the communication and interaction with others, only in the mind of that one person to exist.The weak variant of solipsism is epistemological (epistemological means that it is about acquaintance). This form of solipsism suggests that one can only have knowledge of his own mind and thoughts, and never of others or the world around us.

The logical thought suggested by soloists is as follows: 1) I only have insight into my own mindset and consciousness, and 2) I can not prove, prove or prove to myself, from my own mind, therefore, 3) only my own way of thinking exist for me.

A well-known philosopher, Bertrand Russell, and an opponent of solipsism, once said (freely translated): “Once upon a time I received a letter from an eminent logic, Mrs Christine Ladd-Franklin, stating that she was a soloist, and was surprised that There were no others like her.Her surprise surprised me, coming from a logic and soloist! “

9. Determinism Philosophy

Determinism is a concept that is quite binding: it is assumed that all events (including our thoughts and actions) are caused by past events according to causal laws (physical action action act).The most radical conception of determinism therefore completely excludes human will’s free will.According to this extreme thought it was fully established, from the beginning of the day, that all events would cause action and response, and so I ticked this a while ago, and you read this now.Fortunately, there are many determinists who are also susceptible to milder views.

Einstein’s views are also (largely) deterministic, as evidenced by this free translation of one of his many statements: “A lles has been established, the beginning as well as the end, by forces beyond our control.It is determined for the insect as well as for the star.People, plants, and cosmic fabric, we all dance on a mysterious dune, in trance brought by an invisible pipe player. “

8. Utilitarism Philosophy

Utilitarism is a term that is widely used in economics and ethics.Utilitas comes from Latin, and stands for utility (think of the English word utility).At the heart of this concept is the idea that one can calculate moral value of actions based on the amount of utility that this action provides.Also known is the (utilitaristic) leus’ the greatest benefit (happiness and well-being) for the largest group of people. “Some utilitarists (for example, Peter Singer) are also involved in animals, but most philosophers in this tradition only benefit people.David Hume is an early thinker in utilitarianism (1711-76), like Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-73).

With Mill, utilitarianism was only really popular.In his book ‘utilitarianism’ he wrote (freely translated): “If we hold the foundations of ethics the utility, or the greatest happiness principle, we suggest that actions are good in proportion to what extent they promote happiness, and poor in proportion to the extent to which they achieve the opposite.Happiness means pleasure, and absence of pain, and the reverse of happiness is pain and absence of pleasure. “

7. Epicurism Philosophy

Epicurism is both a philosophical flow, and a concept within philosophy.The philosophical flow (better described in another top ten list, called ” ten philosophical streams “) revolves around life according to its own desires, but with a moderate impact.Nowadays, you will not encounter philosophers who are completely epicuristic, but a certain thought can still be called ‘epicurist’ by a philosopher or a layman who wants to sound interesting.What that means is that the thinking is skeptical of superstition or belief in higher powers, and that the only meaning in life is self-satisfaction.Self-satisfaction must not be seen in the sexual sense, but in the absence of pain and fear, and fulfillment of desires, through knowledge, friendship and moral conduct.In addition, Epicurus, the founder of these ideas, was by no means wars of food and sex …

Epicurus wrote (in Old Greek, translated for us in Dutch): ” Do not waste what you have by requiring what you do not have, remember that what you have ever belonged to the things you wanted” .

Another beautiful quote about him is about his perceptions of death, and reflects well how an epicurist thinking person is free from fear (before death).“Death, the most horrible of all deeds, means nothing to us, simply because when we are, death is not yet, and when there is death, we are no longer.”

6. Positivism Philosophy

A positivist view implies (in both philosophy and other disciplines) that valid knowledge comes from empirical science.Empirical, in turn, means that something has been experienced, or based on observations and experiences.Positiveists believe in such a way that knowledge can only be obtained by applying the scientific method, which involves experimentation and observation according to strict rules.As such, knowledge can only be applied to the perceptible world, and not to things that are not sensibly controllable (such as having an “immeasurable” soul, but later on, under the number one of this list).Many positivist philosophers believe that science will be able to respond to the problems we face today.

Note that positivism in today’s common sense often means that someone is keeping an (exaggerated) optimistic attitude towards life.In philosophy, however, positivism really has more the above connotation.Do not be fooled, if you talk about a positivist with a philosopher then that positivist is not by definition an optimist.

Auguste Comte is often seen as the founder of positivism, and also the first true sociologist, or the first person to bring “social physics” to the man.He once said (according to secondary sources): ” You are not allowed to think about chemistry or biology, why would you be allowed to get political philosophy?”

A predecessor of positivist thinking was British biologist Thomas Huxley (also called Darwin’s bulldog because of his fervent defense of evolution theory). Huxley once said, “It is the deepest sin against the human mind to believe without proof.”

5. Absurdism Philosophy

Absurdistic thinkers believe that life has no meaning whatsoever, and that there is no rational explanation for life.Hence, every attempt to understand the universe is condemned to failure.The suffering of man is a result of attempts to find reason or meaning in their lives, as a result, they suffer from their failure.Knowing or finding meaning is impossible because of the following reasons: a) Our relationship with Reality does not allow this, we can not know with certainty anything about reality, and b) even though we could, we can do it through imperfect communication never tell anyone else.

Absurdism stands in line with absolutism, the belief in absolute and universal (and often manifest) truth.Absurdism is part of a larger flow within philosophy, namely existentialism, and this concept was specifically developed by Albert Camus (he lived from 1913 to 1960).Camus wrote, among other things, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for happiness.You will never live if you continue to search for the meaning of life. “

Salvador Dali, a well-known artist, also had absurdistic tendencies, and wrote about it: “It’s not necessary for the public to know if I’m kidding or serious, just as much as it’s necessary for me to know! “

4. Objectivism Philosophy

Objectivism according to Ayn ​​Rand (an American philosopher who lived from 1902 to 1982), the founder of this thought flow in philosophy, follows the idea that reality is independent of human interpretations.This seems quite logical, but there are many philosophical currents that doubt this idea.Objectivism not, however, since it states that the world is solid regardless of whether we perceive it, understand or not.According to objectivists, knowledge of this objective context is possible, and pursuing your own rational importance is ethical and should be everyone’s ultimate goal.With this institution, objectivism has a great deal of agreement with capitalist thinking: as long as everyone pursues his own selfish selfish interest, everything must be done well.The only social system that is consistent with this approach is laissez-faire capitalism and a free market economy.

Philosophy

Ayn Rand has the following to say: “I do not primarily advocate capitalism but selfishness;and primarily I do not advocate egoism, but for reason.If (…) the reason is recognized and applied consistently, everything else follows. “ And also: ” Capitalism is the only system of freedom to function and progress is accompanied not by forced privatization but by a constant increase in overall level of prosperity, consumption and enjoyment of life. “

3. Secular humanism

Humanism and belief is a philosophy of life that has existed for many centuries and has many forms, but modern humanism is often called secular humanism.This is a form where, like all other humanistic movements, man is central and the value of humanity is maintained as a theme.Justice, reason and moral ethics are central, and in secular humanism, this issue is expressed without using religion (as was the case with previous humanists in the past).

Secular humanism rejects the idea of ​​a supernatural creator, it brings back the meaning of life to the earth and puts it on the feet of the responsible person.There is also no secular humanist, no absolute truth, or moral ethics (one can say that they are instead of absoluteistic, subjectivist).Meaning of life and morality are unique to one person.According to existentialists, humanists believe that human beings have the responsibility to give meaning to life.However, a humanist will always keep in mind the value of his or her fellow human being, and live according to a righteousness that states that one’s actions should never disturb another in his / her actions.Well-known philosophers and thinkers of modern times who used to be humanistic patterns include Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell and Richard Dawkins.

Humanist Kurt Vonnegut described Humanism as follows: “Some people know that I am neither Christian, Jew, nor Buddhist, nor a religious person in other words.I’m a humanist, which means, in part, that I’ve tried to live decent without expectation of rewards or punishments after my death.… My great grandfather wrote, for example, “If what Jesus said was good, what could it mean if he was God or not?” “

2. Nihilism Philosophy

Nihilism stands for denying the existence of meaning or value in the world.Nihil is Latin for nothing (nada, noppes), and nihilism as such is historically strongly linked to the work of the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.Nietzsche described it as follows: “What does nihilism mean?That the most important values ​​are unworthy.It lacks a soul.It lacks an answer to the question “to what?” .Moreover, according to Nietzsche, nihilism was characterized by its recognition of invalidity of morality (morality is subjective and thus not universally valid), invalidity of truth (as well as morality is subjective subjective), and denial of the existence of god.As a way out for nihilism, Nietzsche saw the creation of the people, but note, this is not the one used by the Nazis in their doctrines.Nietzsche’s übermensch would be able to believe existing (mistakenly mistaken) beliefs and make assumptions of truth, create own values, and give own meaning to life

Nietzsche also wrote, “Every faith, every attempt to regard something as true is by mistake since there is simply no real world.”

1. Dualism Philosophy

Dualism means quite rudimentary simply that there are two opposing concepts in one and the same world without sacrificing each other in their most sophisticated basics.There are many types of dualistic entities, but in philosophy we find three sub-types of dualism: anthropological, ethical and cosmic dualism.

Anthropological dualism is about the contrast between body (mortal and material) and the mind (immortal and immaterial).According to dualists, these things are separate things and can not (never) be the same.Anthropological dualism thus means that the soul is always not material and can never be anything material.Earlier we read about determinism, an idea rejecting this dualism, according to determinism, everything is known by means of matter.According to a determinist thinker, an immaterial soul can simply not exist.If there is a soul then it is material, and therefore there is no dualism.Logically, a dualist thinks differently!

Ethical dualism is about a dialectic between Good and Evil, which, according to a dualistic view, are separate and opposing entities, which in their rudimentary form are not reduced to smaller units, they are different in their basic principles.Something that is good can therefore not be in a different context or situation, because it inherently consists of other entities.The humanistic idea that moral considerations are context-dependent therefore does not fit in this ethical dualism, it is either good or evil.

Cosmic dualism deals with the opposite polar mind and matter, finite and infinity and temporal versus eternity.The Chinese Yin and Yang also come here, the idea that the universe consists of two opposing elements or forces.

A (long) quote from philosopher Bertrand Russell can sum up Dualism nicely (again, as always, freely translated): “Death, so says Socrates, is the separation of the soul and the body, and here we come to Plato’s dualism: between reality and shine, ideas and perceptible objects, reason and perception, soul and body.These pairs are linked, the first of each pair is superior to the second both in reality and in goodness. “

We hope this list will be helpful in the next conversation with a philosopher, or lay-wise!By the way, if you have a bit of caliber philosopher for you, never shame to ask for explanation.Find the philosopher that you must know these terms, then he or she most likely simply will not be able to explain them shortly and vigorously!Do not hesitate, readers’ readers, to replenish and correct where necessary, the writer is only human and therefore able to make mistakes.